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UNESCO welcomes Vortices of Trash

The worst thing...is not energy depletion, economic collapse, conventional war, or the expansion of totalitarian governments. As terrible as these catastrophes would be for us, they can be repaired in a few generations. The one process now going on that will take millions of years to correct is loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive us.--e.o. wilson

Re: UNESCO welcomes Vortices of Trash

The size of the gyres is created by oceans' currents. If you can believe that there are ocean currents that swirl in a size twice that of Texas, it may make more sense.

The densities of the garbage, chemical crap and photo-degraded plastic patches varies. I suppose in some areas there is a large amount of big debris floating at the surface where it might be visible from above. Most of the debris is just below the surface though.

If you do a little googling, you should find plenty of evidence that there's tons of plastic choking the oceans.

Re: UNESCO welcomes Vortices of Trash

Here are some quotes from the io9 article:

MYTH: There is a giant island of solid garbage floating in the Pacific.
FACT: There are millions of small and microscopic pieces of plastic, about .4 pieces per cubic meter, floating over a roughly 5000 square km area of the Pacific. This amount has increased significantly over the past 40 years.

Though she and her team have found some larger pieces of plastic, like buoys and tires, most are microscopic. What's alarming about them isn't their size, but the sheer amount of plastic.

But if trends continue, we're going to see more plastic than fish. And with that plastic will come more invasive species, more water skaters, and more creatures to eat the water skaters' eggs. The danger is that this could alter the open ocean forever — and destroy all the native life there that has kept the oceans healthy for thousands of years.

Angel White's view from the "no trick zone" blog is that the amount of plastic "isn't trivial" but exaggerated. Nevertheless, she seems to think that keeping trash out of the oceans is a good idea.

Re: UNESCO welcomes Vortices of Trash

I agree it's a problem... my gripe with these kind of stories is the embellishments, and falsified facts they post with them... like them using this picture in your original link:
Implying the pic was taken in the "Texas sized island of plastic".

Re: UNESCO welcomes Vortices of Trash

Think of it like mowing the lawn... you'd have to have ships with some kind of filter drug on the back like a big net to capture the particles. The amount of fuel used and the amount of indigenous life they would also catch would defeat the purpose of any benefits.

I'm not saying it's not bad or a problem. I just hate the sensationalism they're ingraining into kids and lessor educated who believe there's a plastic island Texas sized you can walk on. Not just this subject either... they do it all the time, often to promote their own agendas more then the cause they're squawking about.

Re: UNESCO welcomes Vortices of Trash

Can't say i have seen it all or studied the amount... but I have seen this with my own eyes.

We as a Navy navigate around it, where possible, because the associated damage caused to seawater systems, the in-ability to make clean water when your in a gyre for a long period, the screw fouling nature of some items... it is just a mess.

Another anecdotal story, I was in charge of a ship in the Philippines at one point in time. We drifted at night to save fuel, maintaining a specific distance from the areas we were working. Since we drifted we would often find ourselves drifting among the trash... it being carried by the same currents. It easily went as far as the eye could see and that was just in the Sulu sea.

Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Re: UNESCO welcomes Vortices of Trash

The entire planet is consuming them.

What cracks me up is you can't smoke at a drive up window, or within 20 feet of a store, but it is ok for those workers to inhale carbon monoxide from cars all day that put out way more harmful fumes than second hand smoke. Politicians don't look at the real, real big picture.

I'm not condoning smoking, but given the choice I'd rather be locked in a garage with a smoker then with a running car.

Re: UNESCO welcomes Vortices of Trash

I actually appreciate getting the details clarified and fleshed-out. Making good decisions follows a good assessment of the facts.

On the other hand, if the sensationalism inspires someone somewhere to think through the consequences of mismanaging their waste, there's some benefit. In today's orcish world, it sometimes takes an exaggerated image to capture people's attention.

*

Interesting stories, JayHawk. Litter and trash spoiling nature pisses me off. I'm forever gobsmacked when I'm out in the hills and forests around Portland and I come across plastic bags of dog shit, soda pop bottles, toilet paper, cigarette butts... WTF? If the people who seem to enjoy nature are so willing to litter...

Re: UNESCO welcomes Vortices of Trash

^The picture above that misrepresents the Gyres is from Manila Bay, a harbor open to the ocean.

In many parts of the world, trash is just dumped in waterways or there's no reasonable system for managing waste.

Water sweeps garbage along from wherever it may be, and takes it finally into the oceans.

Rain and stormwater often overwhelms the systems that are supposed to keep trash out, and cigarette butts and plastic caps are swept into the rivers and then out to sea. That is, in the cities that have such systems in place.

Apparently, the shipping industry is also a source of garbage in oceans. Yeah, just thrown overboard illegally.